Obaidul Karim, the owner of Orion Group Bangladesh speech on Earth and Global Warming on the Occasion of Earth Day……….
Obaidul Karim Said:
Earth Hour is an event promoted by World Wide Fund for Nature Australia (WWF), an environmental lobby group, and the Sydney Morning Herald that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour of a March evening to promote electricity conservation and thus lower carbon emissions. The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on 31 March 2007. The 2007 Earth Hour is estimated to have cut Sydney’s mains electricity consumption by between 2.1% and 10.2% for that hour, with as many as 2.2 million people taking part. A second Earth Hour will be held in Sydney, Melbourne, Montreal, Toronto,Chicago, Tel Aviv and other cities on multiple March 2008 dates.
Earth Hour 2007
The 2007 Earth Hour was part of a wider awareness campaign that aimed to reduce Sydney’s carbon emissions by 5%. 68,506 individuals and 2,270 businesses registered their intention to participate on the Earth Hour website. EnergyAustralia, a utility, attributed a 10.2% decrease in consumption during the hour to the campaign. A poll of about 1000 people conducted afterwards suggested that 57% of Sydneysiders participated ‘ some 2.2 million people.
Earth Hour 2008
Strong backing from the City of Sydney and its Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, helped to make Earth Hour 2008 an international event.
As of 18 March, over 9000 businesses and 136,000 individuals had indicated their intention to participate at earthhour.org.
Earth Hour 2008 will include the following “partner cities”
Aalborg, DenmarkAarhus, DenmarkAdelaide, AustraliaAtlanta, United StatesBangkok, ThailandBrisbane, AustraliaCanberra, AustraliaChicago, United StatesChristchurch, New Zealand
Copenhagen, DenmarkDubai, UAEDublin, IrelandLautoka, FijiManila, PhilippinesMelbourne, AustraliaMontreal, CanadaOdense, DenmarkOttawa, CanadaPerth, Australia
Phoenix, United StatesSan Francisco, United StatesSuva, FijiSydney, AustraliaTel Aviv, IsraelToronto, CanadaVancouver, Canada
What impact did Earth Hour 2007 have
Last year more than 2 million Sydney residents joined Earth Hour by flicking the switch, turning appliances off stand-by and enjoying an hour of quiet darkness, according to a poll conducted by AMR Interactive.
Earth Hour shows that, together, our small actions can make a difference to global warming. There are two key objectives for Earth Hour. The first is to engage as many households, communities and business to turn their lights out for one hour on March 29 2008 from 8pm’ 9pm.
What about in places other than Sydney
Last year we focused on one city because of the massive amount of coordination and organisation required to get a city to turn off it’s lights! We didn’t have the resources to expand the campaign in 2007 ‘ even though we know many people participated outside of Sydney ‘ and so we weren’t able to measure participation results from outside Sydney.
In 2008, however, Earth Hour will be taking place in over 20 cities around the world, and the list keeps growing. We always hoped that Earth Hour would grow into a global campaign. To start this process we focused on one of Australia’s, and the world’s iconic cities. Thanks to the success of Earth Hour in 2007 we’ve now asked other cities, both in Australia and abroad, to join us in supporting Earth Hour.
What is Earth Hour
Earth Hour, run by WWF, the conservation organisation, is a global climate change initiative which calls on individuals and businesses around the world, to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday March 29 2008 between 8 pm and 9pm.
The aim of the campaign is to express that individual action on a mass scale can help change our planet for the better.
The event itself will clearly demonstrate in participating cities, the connection between energy usage and climate change, showing that we as broader community can address the biggest threat our planet has ever faced.
Why do we need to act
Global warming is one of the greatest threats the world has ever faced. Our continued reliance on electricity sourced from coal-fired power stations is causing a dramatic increase in the Earth’s temperature, resulting in rising sea levels, an increase in drought and severe storms, and massive changes to the environment we all rely on to survive.
For example, if the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.
What do I need to do on the night
The most important thing to do on the night is turn off your lights between 8pm and 9pm. There will also be events held on the night, check back later for event updates.
Does this mean I have to turn of everything in my home and use absolutely no electricity
Not at all. The main point of this campaign is to show people and companies how easy it is to take action to avoid global warming. This does not mean you have to turn off your fridge, but we do encourage you to join us by switching off your lights and make a statement, as well as changing your habits in the long term.
Is it correct that most large coal fired power station operate 24/7 and while there maybe less energy used on the night the power stations will still be running at the same capacity
It is correct, however’when demand changes (i.e. lights and other electrical devices being turned on/off) power generation plants regulate their output accordingly. So in the case of coal fired plants, they will have to consequently increase or reduce their coal usage (in the case of Earth Hour this would be a reduction). Other types generators, such as gas fired plants and hydro plants also have to do the same thing.
In summary, the effect of Earth Hour will be to reduce electricity demand. Output from power plants will reduce (coal fired plant, gas fired plant and hydro plants). Which ones will reduce are dependent on what is operating at the time and what is determined by the electricity market(NEMMCO). Based on the time and day that the Earth Hour event is planned, it is very likely Earth Hour will cause a reduction in fossil energy power generation.
Where is Earth Hour taking place
In 2008 Earth Hour will be taking place in over 20 cities around the world, and the list keeps growing. We always hoped that Earth Hour would grow into this global campaign. To start this process we focused on one of Australia’s, and the world’s iconic cities, Sydney. Thanks to the support of Earth Hour in 2007 we’ve now asked other cities, both in Australia and internationally, to join us in supporting Earth Hour. Of course, we can all take small actions everyday like turning off unnecessary lighting to reduce our emissions. And we would be delighted if you can join us by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, regardless of where you live.
How can businesses participate
In Australia, if the commercial sector turned off lights when buildings weren’t in use and combined this action with other cost effective technology they could reduce lighting emissions by 70-80%. We encourage all businesses to participate in Earth Hour ‘ to commit to turning off your lights during Earth Hour ‘ and to tell your employees and customers that you’re taking part. We also encourage you to sign up to energy efficiency initiatives such as the 3CBDs Greenhouse Initiative to help achieve our goal of reducing emissions in your city or town in 2008.
How will you ensure that lights are switched off
We are encouraging as many people to turn off the lights as possible. But we need your help. Please spread the word about Earth Hour to your friends, family and workmates ‘ in conversation, via email, on your weblog, MySpace or Facebook profile, or other websites. The more people that participate in Earth Hour, the more successful it will be.
Isn’t switching the lights off dangerous What about public safety
We are asking people to turn off the nonessential lights for one hour ‘ no lights that affect public safety will be turned off. We want everyone to enjoy Earth Hour in a safe and energy efficient environment.
If everyone turns their lights back on at the same time ‘ will there be a power surge
No. We’ve checked with energy companies and authorities and turning all the lights back on won’t cause any issues.
How much CO2 will be saved during the event
Last year we measured how much energy saved during Earth Hour in Sydney and achieved a reduction of 10.2% (more than doubled our target of 5%). But the main aim of the campaign is to continue to be energy efficient beyond Earth Hour, making small actions everyday to achieve our goal in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in 2008.
What about after the event What can I do then
We all can take action everyday to help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. There are two key objectives for Earth Hour. The first is to engage as many households, communities and business to turn their lights for one hour on March 29.
By creating awareness and securing engagement of the broader community, the second objective is to measure the change in our greenhouse gas emissions over the following 12 months ‘ aiming for a reduction in the year following Earth Hour
Who’s behind Earth Hour
Earth Hour started as a joint initiative between WWF-Australia, Fairfax Media and Leo Burnett for the city of Sydney. The intent is for the event to be adopted by other residents, communities, businesses and governments around the world so they too can help demonstrate that individual action on a mass scale can help change our planet for the better.
Isn’t this just a fundraising event for WWF
No. WWF-Australia, Fairfax Media and Leo Burnett launched Earth Hour with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Sydney by 5% in 2007.
What does the Earth Hour logo mean
The Earth Hour ’60' logo represents the 60 minutes of Earth Hour where we focus on the impact we are having on our planet and take positive action to address the issues we face.
Aren’t you using a heap of electricity and resources to promote this event
Earth Hour is operating under our Principles of Operation, which we are happy to share with you. Earth Hour is a carbon neutral event.
Won’t it still be daylight at 8:00pm
Daylight savings ends on April 6 so 8pm will be roughly twilight.
